‘Unfathomable’, says Santiago on Lacson as anti-crime chief

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – “Unfathomable” was how Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago described a lawmaker’s proposal to tap rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson as head of an anti-organized crime task force to address the rampant crime in Metro Manila.

Santiago filed a resolution “expressing the sense of the Senate that it has full trust and confidence in the Secretary of Interior and Local Government as the head of law enforcement and crime prevention in the country.”

The DILG is headed by Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas.

But in her Senate Resolution No. 907 filed Tuesday, Santiago strongly objected to the reported inclination of certain members of the House of Representatives to push for Lacson’s appointment as anti-crime czar.

“Lacson’s record of alleged human rights violations and abuse of power during his stint in law enforcement weigh heavily against his appointment as anti-crime czar; two infamous cases of extrajudicial killings reportedly masterminded by Lacson were the alleged “rub-out” of members of the Kuratong Baleleng Gang; and the abduction, torture, and murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” DaceI’ and his driver Emmanuel Corbito,” the resolution read.

It also pointed out how Lacson evaded arrest and became a “fugitive” after a warrant of arrest was issued against him in 2010 in connection with the Dacer-Corbito case “only to surface in public when the Court of Appeals dismissed the double murder case against him, in blatant disregard of the rule of law.”

Santiago’s resolution also noted how Lacson “had actively sought to be part of President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet” as head of an anti-corruption agency to entrap government officials suspected of engaging in illegal activities.”

“He even submitted to President Aquino a draft executive order creating the said anti-corruption agency,” said the resolution.

On Dec. 6, 2013, Lacson was appointed as presidential assistant for rehabilitation and recovery, to head the reconstruction efforts of the government in provinces devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda,

But the resolution said Lacson’s performance as rehabilitation czar had been widely criticized.

“Six months after Yolanda, he still could not present a master rehabilitation plan for the areas stricken by the supertyphoon; he blamed two unnamed Cabinet officials who were allegedly derailing the rehabilitation efforts, which in effect was an admission of a failure of leadership on his part to muster support and cooperation from different government agencies and local government officials,” it said.

Santiago said Lacson was only able to submit the rehabilitation plan to the President on Aug. 1, 2014, some nine months after Yolanda devastated Tacloban and other areas in the Visayas.

“Despite Lacson’s dismal performance as rehab czar and his well-publicized record of alleged human rights abuses, it is unfathomable how certain members of the House of Representatives are reportedly still keen on having Lacson appointed as anti-kidnapping or anti- crime czar to solve the rampant crime sprees in Metro Manila and the peace and order problems in the country,” she said in the resolution.

Besides, the senator said, there was already an existing Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

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